Claude Giroux

Hockey will finally resume on January 19, but the talks concerning a certain letter in the alphabet has already begun for the Flyers.

Chris Pronger is nowhere nearing a return to the ice. And with his retirement inevitable - but not official due to his contract - the designated captain slot will remain vacant until the Flyers decide to finally fill the void.

Three names have been on the lips of fans during the 2011-12 season: veterans Danny Briere and Kimmo Timonen, and the young leader of the team, Claude Giroux. Only one of those players has remained a hot topic for the captaincy and it's the one who many around the NHL view to be the future of the Flyers and the league.

Sam Carchidi threw up a tweet that shouldn't come to a surprise to anyone. Giroux's best friend and locker room leader Scott Hartnell said that "Giroux is ready to be captain."

The NHL is still in the midst of a lockout due to a CBA dispute between the NHL and the NHLPA. There have been rumors that a season could start around the beginning of December, TCL's Shane Blackburn provides a preview of the Eastern Conference should the lockout end. (Photo Credit: Wikipedia)

Here's the scene: It’s game four of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New Jersey Devils. The Devils have frustrated the Flyers for two and a half games now, stifling the high flying attack that dismissed the favored Penguins in six games.

Today, the Philadelphia Flyers announced the signing of LW Scott Hartnell to a six-year contract extension. The signing comes after Hartnell’s most productive season in the NHL (37 G, 30 A), where he earned himself a spot on the top line as well as a trip to the All-Star Game.

Hartnell has been with the Flyers since the 2007-2008 season, after he was traded - along with Kimmo Timonen - from the Nashville Predators. He signed a six-year, $25.2 million contract with the Flyers almost immediately after coming to Philadelphia, a contract that would have expired at the end of next season.

The Philadelphia Flyers will have to win or go home tonight as they are on the brink of elimination for the first time in this season's playoffs when they host the New Jersey Devils in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semi Finals.

They will be doing so without the NHL's leading goal scorer in this year's playoffs, Claude Giroux.

There is a laundry list of reasons given when a team doesn’t perform well: tension in the locker room, injuries, a lack of jump, so on and so forth. The team vows that they’ll play better next time, that they’ll keep working at it, and they’ll be just fine.

That’s a vow the Flyers are going to need to keep in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, after dropping two games in a row to the New Jersey Devils and falling a game behind in the series.

A one-game deficit might not sound like that big of an issue, but with the way the Flyers have played over the last two games, tying the series up seems like a much more daunting task than it usually might.

There have been slow starts, lapses in communication, weak goals allowed, and defensive breakdowns – things that the team has been dealing with all season. After 91 games, it’s about time that they figure out a solution to those issues.

2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs - Eastern Conference SemifinalsPhiladelphia Flyers ( 5 ) vs. New Jersey Devils ( 6 ) You have to wonder what facing the New Jersey Devils means to the Philadelphia Flyers. They've just come from beating the Pittsburgh Penguins in one of the most emotional series in recent memory, set up by even more emotional regular season games to close out the season last month. If they win this one, they can likely look forward to facing the New York Rangers, another big time Atlantic rival whom they faced in this past year's Winter Classic, to much fanfare. Forgetting how impressive it would be for a team to make the Stanley Cup final going ...

There comes a time for any great player when they find the stage. The stage will be littered with other great players, storylines, history, and much more.

The great players elevate. They show their worth and add notches to their belt.

It’s not because they are just good, it’s because they’re great. A good player can play well on the stage – a great player makes the stage his own.

Game 6 in Philadelphia was a stage, just like the first round series between the cross-state rivals. Flyers forward Claude Giroux made it his.

He set a franchise record for points in a playoff series with 14. He also extended his lead as the top scorer in the playoffs. If the Conn Smythe Trophy were given away after the first round, Giroux would most likely hoist it.